Original subtitles

KING JR.: Previously on Genius.

RUSTIN: Powell is a bully.

And when a bully threatens you,

you don't walk away.

You ball up your fists and you swing.

WILLIAMS: Well, I guess I'd look pretty stupid right now

if I'd let myself believe last night was real.

CLYDE X: The police assaulted Brother Hinton.

He's in bad shape.

MUHAMMAD: Why didn't you consult with me first?

OFFICER: Boy, come on.

KENNEDY: And I was calling to see how you were holding up.

CORETTA: Thank you, Senator.

If you could take a look into Martin's situation,

I would really appreciate it.

KING JR.: Corrie, that phone call probably changed

the course of the election.

MALCOLM X: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches.

SHABAZZ: It's Betty and Malcolm.

Not Betty, Malcolm, and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

MALCOLM X: We achieved what everyone thought impossible.

Now it's time to take on the world.

THURMOND: There's nothing those people hate

more than a racist.

So why not give them one to focus on?

EVERS: We'll be demonstrating here until freedom comes.

These are stores that help to support the

White Citizens' Council, is dedicated to keeping

you and I second-class citizens.

KENNEDY: This is an extremely comprehensive bill.

It bans racial discrimination in public accommodations,

eliminates federal funding for programs that exclude Negroes,

and gives the Justice Department broad powers to

desegregate schools.

Gentlemen, this bill is the strongest piece of legislation

for Negro equality in a century.

WILKINS: We appreciate everything you're trying

to do here, Mr. President, but.

KING JR.: But we've been down this road before.

If you don't have the votes,

the bill will be gutted like in '57.

ABERNATHY: With all due respect, sir,

you won't even have the support of half of your party.

RANDOLPH: Thurmond and his Dixiecrats will die

on this hill.

KENNEDY: Which is why I need your help to drum up support.

We're all on the same side here.

LEWIS: It hasn't felt like the Federal Government was on our

side these past few months in Birmingham and Mississippi,

while we were being bombed, arrested, fire-hosed,

attacked by dogs, and murdered.

KENNEDY: I wanna put an end to this unrest as much

as you do, Mr. Lewis.

WILKINS: We all do, which is why we should focus

on finding solutions.

KENNEDY: So, what do you think, Doctor King?

KING JR.: This country must realize that

this is not a Southern issue,

but an American issue.

Which is why we've called for a

March on Washington.

KENNEDY: This bill will have a much better chance without

Negroes taking to the streets.

RANDOLPH: Negroes are already in the street, Mr. President.

KING JR.: How many more martyrs does our cause need?

How many more fathers and sons have to be slain for

America to say enough is enough?

Medgar Evers fought in World War II and came back

to be assassinated in his driveway,

in front of his family.

He believed in what this country stands for,

but remains to be seen is,

does this country believe in him?

Giving Negroes their full citizenship is long overdue.

MALCOLM X: Last Friday night, seven innocent,

unarmed Black men were shot in cold blood by

Los Angeles Police at Muhammad's Mosque 27.

One is now dead, another paralyzed.

Five others in serious condition.

How can this crime against innocent human beings occur in

America with no public outcry?

It's because Chief Parker has misused the press to camouflage

this inhuman atrocity.

But no more.

No Negro in America is gullible enough to eat their story.

REPORTER: Minister, are you accusing the LAPD chief

of targeting Muslims?

MALCOLM X: Yes, sir.

And now he's trying to make the Negroes in the community

think that we are not Negro and that they

should be against us too.

REPORTER: Malcolm, the police report states that it

was the Muslims who attacked first.

MALCOLM X: As Muslims, sir, we are not allowed to have

weapons in our home, much less upon our person.

I'll say this,

if someone throws a rock through the window

of a synagogue or a church, everybody's up in arms.

Yet here are the police department

shooting up our mosque.

Now, this is Brother Ronald Stokes.

He fought for this country in Korea and returned home

to be murdered by police.

He was shot through the heart.

But they weren't satisfied.

While he lay on the floor, a bullet hole in his chest,

they put a hole in his head with their clubs.

Now as Muslims,

we are in fact allowed to defend ourselves.

And that is precisely what we intend to do.

(overlapping questions)

MUHAMMAD: I trusted you had more sense than to start

a war with those devils.

MALCOLM X: Sir, what would our brothers think if we

do not follow our own doctrine?

If we take the desecration of our temple laying down?

MUHAMMAD: And what do you propose we do, brother?

MALCOLM X: The Los Angeles Fruits have the home addresses

of the guilty cops.

On your word, we will ensure these brutes never

abuse Muslims again.

CLYDE X: I fear the sorrow of our brother's death is blinding

you to reason.

MALCOLM X: So we do nothing?

You know, a brave man was treated like a dog.

Worse than a dog.

How are you not angry?

MUHAMMAD: I have always admired your fire, Malcolm.

But you must put your trust in the Just One, who,

in his infinite wisdom,

will find a way to avenge this atrocity.

Could you give me your word you will leave it

in Allah's hands?

MALCOLM X: If that is what you wish.

MUHAMMAD: We're in agreement.

Now, you understand Muhammad Speaks has lost its

bearing and needs a new captain.

MALCOLM X: And you've found your man.

MUHAMMAD: Brother Clyde has been by my side for a

very long time.

He will take over the publication from

this point forward.

I trust you will not defy me again.

MALCOLM X: No, I will not.

MUHAMMAD: Good. Now for the foreseeable future,

you will solely concentrate on recruiting.

May Allah keep you wise and away from politics.

MALCOLM X: And you in good health, sir.

ANNIE: For your journey, Brother Minister.

MALCOLM X: I see my wife called.

Thank you, Sister...?

ANNIE: Annie.

MALCOLM X: I'm the new secretary to the Messenger.

Do you know what happened to the Sister who used to be here?

ANNIE: I don't like to gossip,

but I think Sister Evelyn's fallen on hard times.

The MGTs use her as a cautionary tale.

ANCHOR (over TV): And coming up next,

special announcement from Reverend...

SHABAZZ: Malcolm, dear, I was wondering if you

could look over my article?

ANCHOR (over TV): But first, we ask residence if they are

concerned about the city,

about some of the incidents that happened in

connection with them.

Let's hear what some people think.

MALCOLM X: Well, congratulations, Betty,

but I think you'd be better served to pass this along

to Brother Clyde.

He's the new editor now.

SHABAZZ: What happened?

MALCOLM X: Best interest of the nation, I guess.

KING JR. (over TV): So it's with great urgency that we call for a

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28th.

In the Centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation,

it is time for this Nation to fulfill its promise to its

Negro citizens.

MALCOLM X: Kennedy's shrewd.

He has the good doctor doing his bidding to protect his

legacy on civil rights.

If he has that many Negroes parading and the bill passes,

the fight will be over.

Even if nothing changes, it'll look like a win.

SHABAZZ: What are you going to do about it?

MALCOLM X: I'm gonna make sure they don't sell out.

LEWIS: I'm running out of ways to convince the students to

stay the course and be patient when we have so little

to show for it.

WILKINS: Well, a procession of volatile students storming the

streets with a tinge of Harlem won't help our cause.

KING JR.: That's why we need to mobilize a crowd of

at least 100,000 to Washington.

WILKINS: Are you mad, 100,000?

KING JR.: That's the bare minimum if we wanna

be taken seriously.

John's right, we need a show of force.

RANDOLPH: Now, we're talking.

ABERNATHY: That's four times the largest crowd

we've ever been able to gather.

WILKINS: We'll lose Kennedy and any chance this legislation has.

KING JR.: No one bill is gonna solve the problems

we're facing in the South.

We need to hold everyone's feet to the fire

and demand more.

WILKINS: But without time to prepare,

this march'll blow up in our faces.

RUSTIN: Not necessarily.

Randolph and I have been working together on a plan.

WILKINS: Really?

And who's gonna be paying for it?

RUSTIN: Is a March on Washington worth the cost

to the NAACP?

WILKINS: Not when someone else gets the publicity.

KING JR.: Roy, we're gonna go ahead with the march.

It would mean a lot to everyone here if the NAACP

is on board.

But it will mean more to history if it isn't.

ABERNATHY: Let's take five.

RANDOLPH: John.

ABERNATHY: You think he'll come around?

KING JR.: Frankly, I don't care anymore.

How long does he expect us to wait?

Will those kids who are getting arrested all over the

South see the fruits of their sacrifice?

Or will they have to wait another generation?

ABERNATHY: You know he'll join us in the end.

I think he's just jealous you and Kennedy are

thick as thieves.

COTTON: If it isn't the civil rights twins!

ABERNATHY: He wishes.

COTTON: Your car is here, Martin, right through this exit.

KING JR.: Thank you, Dorothy.

COTTON: Did you reconsider what we discussed?

About getting security.

KING JR.: Ah.

Well, students all over the South don't have anyone

protecting them from the police or the Klan, so.

COTTON: And they are brave for what they do.

But you know it's different.

KING JR.: I don't wanna be a hypocrite.

COTTON: Yeah, but after what happened to Medgar...

If something would happen to you.

KING JR.: Nothing is gonna happen to me,

or any of us, all right?

(camera shutter clicks)

ASST. MINISTER: Welcome to DC, Brother Minister.

MALCOLM X: Happy to be here.

ASST. MINISTER: President made some remarks

about your arrival.

MALCOLM X: Well, he's right to be worried.

Brother John.

LEWIS: Brother Malcolm, what are you doing here?

MALCOLM X: I just came to get a quick bite of cream,

that's all.

I didn't expect to see you here.

LEWIS: There are at least three other parlors within

a six-mile radius from here.

Things like that don't happen by coincidence.

MALCOLM X: Well, I guess you could say I didn't

wanna be late to the party.

Now, things are shaping up pretty well out there

for your march.

LEWIS: Well, it's a good reminder of what

we're fighting for.

MALCOLM X: Uh-hmm.

LEWIS: What we all should be fighting for.

MALCOLM X: I agree.

And that's why you should be attending my rally in Harlem.

I'm inviting all Negro leaders.

I think we should be able to submerge our minor differences

to seek a solution to our common problem with

our common enemy.

LEWIS: Not sure Dr. King and the others think our

differences are so minor.

MALCOLM X: Don't let them dilute your message.

The students have been at the forefront of this fight and

are its future.

LEWIS: And we get to benefit from the battles fought by

those who came before us.

MALCOLM X: That's what they want you to believe so

that you look up to them and they can keep

you in check when really,

they should be looking out for you.

John, you know, it's not too late to invite the

Honorable Elijah Muhammad to speak.

LEWIS: That would be something.

MALCOLM X: Uh-hmm.

And he would ensure that those so-called Negro leaders

don't turn you into Kennedy's puppets.

LEWIS: The President wasn't the biggest fan of the march.

We've already...

MALCOLM X: But he is now,

now that he's pulling all the strings.

Listen.

Don't let the March on Washington turn into the

March in Washington.

WILKINS: All I'm saying is,

that if you're giving the keynote address,

all the organizing parties should get a say in it.

ABERNATHY: Well, it's not like we get a say in yours.

Why would Martin's be any different?

WILKINS: But his is different.

He's getting extra time,

which doesn't seem fair because the NAACP is

footing the bill for all of this.

RANDOLPH: Most of the people are coming to hear him.

WILKINS: More reason to make sure he speaks for all of us.

At the very least, let us read it.

KING JR.: Bayard, are the trains running on time?

RUSTIN: Trains, planes, and buses coming from every

corner of this land.

KING JR.: What's the frown about?

RUSTIN: Well, the administration is concerned

about the possibility of violence.

LEWIS: As long as they keep their police dogs away from us,

there won't be.

RUSTIN: There will be no canine units.

ABERNATHY: They don't want a repeat of the images

coming out of Birmingham.

RUSTIN: On the flip side,

they have agreed to let us park on the Mall,

which has never been done before.

So long as we're out by sundown.

LEWIS: God forbid we got Negroes walking the

streets at night.

KING JR.: Kennedy wants the same as we do,

a peaceful show of force.

LEWIS: Really?

Because I thought the purpose of this march was

to let the politicians know what we want.

KING JR.: Well, isn't that one and the same?

To bring about real change?

WILKINS: John, compromise is the only way to

get legislation through.

KING JR.: Which is why we wanna work with the administration

and abandon all plans for civil disobedience.

LEWIS: When did the March on Washington become a

March in Washington?

Malcolm X is right. We're just Kennedy's puppets.

KING JR.: Think about the symbolic power of 100,000

Negroes demanding freedom at the foot of

the Lincoln Memorial.

The world will be watching.

LEWIS: Yeah.

And they'll watch us bow to the pressure from men

who wouldn't sit next to us on a damn bus.

KING JR.: Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise?

I thought you was arriving tomorrow?

CORETTA: Ooh.

I thought you might be happy to see me.

KING JR.: Yeah.

Hmm, an answer to my prayers.

CORETTA: I saw a copy of the schedule on your desk and

I noticed there are no women on the list of speakers.

KING JR.: There's a tribute to women.

CORETTA: Where they don't get to speak?

KING JR.: It's a packed program, Corrie.

CORETTA: Oh, Martin.

Women have been the backbone of this movement since Montgomery.

I'm sure the crowd wants to hear what they have to say and

not just celebrate them.

KING JR.: Not you too.

CORETTA: Excuse me?

KING JR.: I have enough to do trying to keep this march from

falling apart without having to also please my wife.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Why don't we try putting some comfortable shoes on and

going for a walk outside?

Give me a chance to start over?

CORETTA: I think that's a good idea.

KING JR.: These last few months, I've,

I've felt like an impostor.

Insisting non-violence is the answer when we're met

with so much brutality.

CORETTA: You can't mean that.

KING JR.: But many do.

They call me a hypocrite, a sellout.

And maybe I am,

preaching love and unity when we can't even agree ourselves.

CORETTA: Leading is not easy.

Not when the stakes are so high.

If anyone can bring people together, it's you.

KING JR.: I haven't written a single line in my speech.

I don't even know what it's supposed to be,

where it begins.

Everybody has an opinion, an agenda.

How am I supposed to rouse the people to action and

not antagonize the politicians?

CORETTA: God is in your heart.

Let Him speak through you.

And don't try to appease anyone else.

What's wrong?

KING JR.: I just don't know how I got so lucky.

CORETTA: Boy, c'mon, stop. Let's go.

KING JR.: I'm serious, Corrie.

Every bit of strength I have comes from being your husband.

Thank you for choosing me.

CORETTA: Come on. Let's go.

CLYDE X: Thank you.

SHABAZZ: Brother Clyde,

I was wondering why my health column did not appear

in the latest issue in the paper.

CLYDE X: We ran out of space. Sorry, sister.

SHABAZZ: Will it appear in the next one, then?

CLYDE X: If it's deemed relevant.

SHABAZZ: What could be more relevant than ensuring

the health of our next generation?

CLYDE X: Modesty, perhaps.

SHABAZZ: Isn't envy a lack of modesty by another name and

a cardinal sin?

CLYDE X: You have a point, Sister?

SHABAZZ: Only that it sure seems like a show of envy to

refuse to cover the excellent work that Minister Malcolm is

doing in Washington.

All the other papers seem to deem it relevant.

THURMOND: Mr. President, I rise to call the attention

of my colleagues to Bayard Rustin,

or as he is referred to in the press,

"Mr. March-on-Washington himself."

Mr. Rustin was sentenced to 28 months during World War II

for dodging the draft.

He was also convicted in 1953 of sex perversion

after being arrested with two other men and pleading guilty.

He traveled to the Soviet Union and upon his return,

became secretary to Dr. Martin Luther King.

I have previously warned of the Communist connection

in these civil rights groups.

It is now an urgent matter because of the position of

prominence Mr. Rustin commands in the

Negro March on Washington.

Many people across this country are not satisfied

with the Attorney General's efforts to whitewash the

question of Communist involvement in

these Negro demonstrations,

which have been turning into race riots.

Congress needs to conduct a thorough investigation before

any action is taken on the civil rights legislation which

was sent at Capitol Hill,

as a direct result of these demonstrations.

(overlapping chatter)

REPORTER: Malcolm.

Minister, are you here because the Black Muslims

support this march?

MALCOLM X: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad is

glad to see Black people waking up and

demanding their rights.

REPORTER: Wasn't your sect apolitical?

Forbidding members from voting?

MALCOLM X: Our religion believes that civil rights are

God-given rights, not something we need to beg for.

REPORTER: Were you invited to participate?

MALCOLM X: I wouldn't wanna take part in this

farce on Washington.

REPORTER: Will you attend the march tomorrow?

MALCOLM X: Excuse me. Brother Bayard.

RUSTIN: Good to see you outside of a debate stage, Malcolm.

MALCOLM X: Are you having a little picnic or

something tomorrow?

RUSTIN: Ah, something like that.

MALCOLM X: Must have made your job easy having Kennedy

telling you how and when to arrive,

where to assemble, and how to march.

Did he give you instructions on when to faint?

RUSTIN: Is that why you're here?

Hmm, to faint?

MALCOLM X: I'm just here to see you succeed.

You know, you've done most of the legwork.

I want to make sure that the message doesn't get diluted now.

I have some thoughts.

COTTON: Mr. Rustin, we have a problem.

RUSTIN: Sorry, Malcolm.

I hope to see you tomorrow at the march.

In light of Senator Thurmond's remarks to Congress,

I'm afraid that I have to offer my resignation.

RANDOLPH: That bigot.

That's a low blow, even for him.

WILKINS: This is the excuse the Dixiecrats have

been looking for.

RUSTIN: I didn't come back into the fold to let my

past tarnish this march.

Best for me to step down.

KING JR.: I won't be bullied into losing the brains

of this operation.

Not this time.

RANDOLPH: I'll make a statement to the press.

KING JR.: I need to go finish my speech.

We are all each other's brothers and sisters.

We must band together against our oppressors now.

We must know that with love and faith,

we will find a way.

In a time like this, we must have strong minds,

great hearts,

true faith, ready hands.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

We'll be all right.

PROTESTERS: Freedom now. Justice now.

Freedom now. Justice now.

Freedom now. Justice now.

Freedom now. Justice now.

Freedom now. Justice now.

Freedom now. Justice now.

Freedom now. Justice now.

Freedom now. Justice now.

Freedom now. Justice now.

Freedom now. Justice now.

Freedom now. Justice now.

Freedom now. Justice now.

Freedom now. Justice now.

Freedom now. Justice now.

Freedom now. Justice now.

♪ We shall overcome ♪

♪ We shall overcome ♪

♪ Someday ♪

♪ Oh, deep in my heart ♪♪

JUANITA: Corrie, over, over here.

CORETTA: Come on, let's sit right here.

MAN: Yeah.

RANDOLPH: Let me introduce to you the

moral leader of our nation,

Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

(applause and cheering)

(applause and cheering)

(applause and cheering)

KING JR.: I am overjoyed to join you today in what

will be remembered as the largest gathering for freedom

in the history of our country.

♪ I was cold in the wilderness ♪

♪ I was lost and could not see ♪

♪ I was lonely in the darkness ♪

♪ I never thought I'd be free ♪

♪ And the walls were all around me ♪

♪ I didn't think I had the strength, ♪

♪ But you heard my call ♪

♪ Kept me from the fall ♪

♪ Lead me out of night ♪♪

KING JR.: And the conviction that there will be a better

future ahead when Negros are finally free.

Free at last, free at last.

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.

♪ From the shadow ♪

♪ From the shadow ♪

♪ From the shadow into the light ♪

♪ Glory, glory, ♪

♪ Glory I am home ♪♪

CORETTA: Oh, Martin, did you see that crowd?

ABERNATHY: And that was a whole lot

more than 100,000 people.

CORETTA: Oh.

ABERNATHY: I'd say at least a quarter million.

KING JR.: Well... ABERNATHY: And we did it.

JUANITA: Now, there is no stopping us now.

CORETTA: Ooh. Oh.

I can't wait to see what Kennedy says.

JUANITA: He's gonna be thanking you for

putting him in office.

CORETTA: Uh-hmm.

KING JR.: But wives aren't going.

CORETTA: Of course, we are, Martin.

Where do you think this car is headed?

KING JR.: Yeah.

Only the speakers are invited to the White House.

CORETTA: But I've been looking for an opportunity

to thank Kennedy for what he did when you were in jail.

KING JR.: It's against protocol, Corrie.

CORETTA: Protocol?

What are you talking about, Martin?

I'm your wife.

KING JR.: And I love you.

But I can't bring you just because you're my wife.

I'll see you at the hotel.

(knocking)

ESSIE MAE: I wasn't expecting you.

THURMOND: It's your birthday.

HUSBAND: Here you go.

Looks good.

Who was that?

ESSIE MAE: My father. HUSBAND: Your father?

♪ ♪

WILLIAMS: Malcolm.

(laughs)

Oh, my gosh.

I'm glad you reached out.

I thought about it many times,

but I didn't think you wanna hear from me.

MALCOLM X: It's good to see you, Evelyn.

And who's this?

WILLIAMS: Eva Marie.

MALCOLM X: Eva Marie. May Allah watch over her.

WILLIAMS: Hmm. I'm afraid he's forgotten us.

MALCOLM X: The Almighty never does.

WILLIAMS: Things have been,

uh, difficult since my expulsion from the Nation.

Everyone's turned their back on us.

I thought he would take care of us.

MALCOLM X: Men will say all sorts of things

to satisfy their lust.

WILLIAMS: No.

I thought the Messenger was different,

that he was above other men.

MALCOLM X: You can't possibly mean the Messenger

is responsible for this?

WILLIAMS: Well, you must've heard the rumors.

I'm not the only one, there are others.

MALCOLM X: I don't give credence to rumors.

WILLIAMS: Why are you really here, Malcolm?

MALCOLM X: To make sure you're okay.

WILLIAMS: No. To ease your conscience.

MALCOLM X: Listen, when I asked you to join the Nation,

I never wanted any of this for you.

WILLIAMS: Uh-hmm.

MALCOLM X: I'm truly sorry, Evelyn, for the pain I caused.

WILLIAMS: Then make it right.

Make Elijah recognize his daughter and his other children.

MALCOLM X: You know I can't do that.

WILLIAMS: Well, now, you realize what kind of

man he really is.

So the question you have to ask yourself is,

can you still devote your life to him?

It's good seeing you, Brother Malcolm.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

SHABAZZ: Are you not coming to bed?

MALCOLM X: In a little bit.

SHABAZZ: Hey. What happened in Washington?

MALCOLM X: I've always prided myself on being a good

judge of character.

SHABAZZ: Because you are.

MALCOLM X: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad has fathered children

with his secretaries for years and I met one of

the babies myself, and the mother is Evelyn.

SHABAZZ: When did you see her?

MALCOLM X: She's lost everything.

Expelled from the Nation,

no means to provide for her daughter.

She's despondent and the Messenger has refused to help.

SHABAZZ: Malcolm. When did you see her?

MALCOLM X: Does that really matter, Betty?

SHABAZZ: Yes, it matters. That's why I'm asking.

MALCOLM X: I saw her today.

SHABAZZ: You didn't feel the need to tell me

about this beforehand?

Malcolm, I'm not upset that you went and saw Evelyn.

But what does give me pause is that you didn't come

to me and tell me first.

We are a team, you and I, together,

and there should be nothing we hold back from each other.

Now are you so upset because of what Elijah did or

because he did it to Evelyn?

MALCOLM X: It's because of what he did to the Nation.

What he did to us.

If this were to get out, it would be the end.

The end of everything we spent the last 12 years building.

Oh, how could I have been so blind?

SHABAZZ: Because love clouds our judgment.

I know this isn't about her,

this is about your love for Elijah.

That's why it hurts so much.

This is a lot.

Promise me you won't do anything rash.

MALCOLM X: We need to focus our teachings on self-reliance

and shift away from the more moralistic lessons.

CLYDE X: Is this doctrine coming from the

Honorable Elijah Muhammad?

MALCOLM X: I haven't had a chance to discuss it

with him yet.

But I will once he comes here.

CLYDE X: I'm afraid his health is not robust enough for that.

He's asked that you speak on his behalf.

But stick to his doctrine for a change.

MALCOLM X: Well, I think he will agree that our members

could use a reminder on the stories of David and Lot.

CLYDE X: Flawed prophets?

MALCOLM X: Their inspiring deeds outweigh their failings.

CLYDE X: What are you getting at here, Minister?

MALCOLM X: Just trust me.

This is for the good of the Nation.

CLYDE X: Good of the Nation or your own agenda?

Because it seems to me, Brother Minister,

that they are no longer the same.

MALCOLM X: No one is more loyal to the Messenger than me.

I'm aware I only fly because of the wings he gave me.

GRANT X: Minister, you need to turn on the

television right now.

KING JR.: Hey, where are the kids?

I got some thumbprint cookies from Henrietta's.

CORETTA: Doing their homework if they know what's

good for them.

YOKI KING: Daddy! You're home!

KING III: Did you get peach cookies?

KING JR.: You kids listen to your momma?

KING III: Of course, we listened to momma.

KING JR.: Is that what your momma will say?

KING III: Not true! YOKI KING: True too.

ANNOUNCER (over TV): In New York with a bulletin

incident that's just occurred in Dallas, Texas

where President Kennedy is visiting.

President Kennedy and Governor John Connally of Texas

were both hit by a would-be assassin's bullet as they

toured downtown Dallas...

(plate breaks)

KING JR.: Corrie, what is it?

ANNOUNCER (over radio): President Kennedy was shot just

as his motorcade left downtown Dallas,

both the President and the Senator were hit by the bullets.

And has come in, the President,

his limp body cradled in the arm of his wife,

was rushed to Parkland Hospital.

And we are awaiting further word on his condition.

CRONKITE: From Dallas, Texas, the flash apparently official.

President Kennedy died at 1:00 PM Central Standard Time,

2:00 Eastern Standard Time, some 38 minutes ago.

CRONKITE (over TV): President Johnson...

MALCOLM X: This is a sick country.

CLYDE X: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad won't want us

commenting on Kennedy's death.

KRONKITE (over TV): He will be taking the

Oath of Office shortly.

REPORTER: Malcolm. Malcolm. Mister X! Mister X!

What do you have to say?

REPORTER: In your lecture today and previously,

you have criticized President Kennedy.

What are your thoughts on his assassination?

MALCOLM X: The President twiddled his thumbs at the

killing of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem and

Congolese President Patrice Lumumba.

He did nothing when Medgar Evers was shot outside

his house in Mississippi,

and there has been no action from the federal government

against the systematic brutality of police

against Black Americans.

I guess Kennedy never foresaw that the chickens would

come home to roost.

And being an old farm boy myself,

chickens coming home to roost never did make me sad.

REPORTER: Mister X, are you saying that you're

happy that Kennedy has passed?

Just one more word, Mister X.

Mister X, please, can you elaborate more on that?

KING JR.: President Kennedy's assassination is not an

isolated event but the result of a climate of hatred born of

deeply entrenched systemic inequality.

All Americans are complicit in this assassination.

The clergymen who remain silent in the

face of racial injustice,

politicians who prioritize their own re-election above

servicing the people who elect them,

and those who silence the outspoken voices that oppose

them by labeling them as Communist.

CORETTA: Martin, come watch.

KING JR.: America's failure to reckon with the cancer of

racial injustice will inevitably lead to our moral

and spiritual doom.

MUHAMMAD: Brother Minister.

MALCOLM X: I'm glad you're finally in good health,

I wish I had known of your impending arrival.

MUHAMMAD: There was no need for advance announcements.

Please sit.

It's only natural for the young to think they know best,

to defy their fathers.

Especially one in your position, who is admired by so many.

But don't be fooled.

There is wisdom in experience and

there is also responsibility.

MALCOLM X: Sir, everything I've done has been on your behalf,

to grow your Nation.

MUHAMMAD: The poison about a President who's beloved

by so many of Brothers was not a wise choice.

MALCOLM X: I was simply speaking the truth.

MUHAMMAD: Against my instructions.

Do you no longer trust my judgment?

MALCOLM X: Sir, your wisdom is infinite,

as you speak for Allah.

MUHAMMAD: And yet you act as if this is your Nation and

not the one I built.

MALCOLM X: I would sooner die than speak against you.

MUHAMMAD: Well, that's not what I hear.

That's not what your deeds show.

You cannot walk through the woods with a flame and

not start a fire.

MALCOLM X: I'm not the only one who's made mistakes.

MUHAMMAD: Do you accuse me of something?

MALCOLM X: The Qur'an considers adultery as big

of a sin as murder.

MUHAMMAD: You know nothing of what you are talking about.

MALCOLM X: I know Evelyn Williams.

I've known her since we were teenagers and I have

seen her embrace the Nation and I have

seen her life destroyed.

MUHAMMAD: Having a child out of wedlock is against our rules.

MALCOLM X: Allah forgives those who repent because

Allah is merciful.

She has repented.

But the man who put that child in her womb is

not taking responsibility.

She now has to care for that child on her own.

The only one bearing the consequences.

Except she's not the only one, is she?

MUHAMMAD: Allah himself has made me his Messenger.

The good I've done outweighs the sins of my flesh.

MALCOLM X: But what about the women and the children?

MUHAMMAD: What is one life against the

thousands I've saved?

I pulled you out of bondage, gave you a voice,

treated you like a son.

MALCOLM X: I have also looked to you as my father!

I allowed myself to trust you as my father!

MUHAMMAD: And I still am.

MALCOLM X: My father would never lie to me.

My father was true and honest.

MUHAMMAD: You give me no choice but to silence you.

You are suspended from the Nation and all communication

with members is forbidden.

You may please exit.

Now!

♪ ♪

♪ Old man, let me wipe your eyes ♪

♪ I've never seen you cry ♪

♪ Old friend, in our own sweet time, ♪

♪ We'll share a good goodbye ♪

♪ All my life, I know by now ♪

♪ All these memories, too much to lose ♪

♪ No one ever leaves you ♪

♪ I don't need faith, I don't need truth ♪

♪ No one ever leaves you ♪

♪ Everybody, raise a glass, ♪

♪ Oh, here's to a good goodbye ♪

♪ Oh, everybody, raise a glass, ♪

♪ Oh, and all these memories, ♪

♪ Too much to lose ♪

♪ No one ever leaves you ♪

♪ I don't need faith, I don't need truth ♪

♪ No one ever leaves you ♪

♪ I don't need faith, I just want proof ♪ ♪